Professor Marc Cowling, Head of Research & Innovation at University of Derby College of Business, Law and Social Sciences and member of CRSE’s Steering Committee chaired a track on Freelancing, Solo Self-Employment and Gig Economy Working at the annual Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) conference that took place on 14-15 November in Newcastle.
ISBE is a network for people and organisations involved in small business and entrepreneurship research, policy, education, support and advice. Through its events and annual conference ISBE aims to disseminate this research to policymakers and business support organisations, where it can have genuine impact and inform change.
In line with this agenda, the track chaired by Professor Cowling was devoted to the study of the impact of freelancers and solo self-employment on the transformation of careers, entrepreneurship and organisations.
The aim of this track, which was first introduced in 2018, is to provide researchers in the area of self-employment and modern work with an opportunity to extend the reach of their work and heighten its impact.
CRSE was excited to see the quality and diversity of insight demonstrated by all presenters, coming from a range of disciplines including entrepreneurship, social sciences, design, psychology and law.
During this two-day event the authors covered topics such as:
- Growth of self-employment in the UK
- Skill challenges for the self-employed
- Starting motives of self-employed workers
- Defining self-employment and the gig economy
For more information about the track, please visit ISBE’s website.